Where the Heart Is
by Oreus
Summary: Haku has just lost his best friend and is now going to leave the bathhouse for good. However, Haku is not sure where to go. Can an old friend help him find the way home?


~Hey there! This is a Spirited Away fic, set after the movie. Haku has just lost his best friend and is going to leave the bathhouse for good. However, Haku is not sure where to go. Can an old friend help him find the way home? The pairing Chihiro + Haku, of course! I'm not sure how long this is going to be, but I think that it will be at least three chapters. Please read and review! = P Enjoy!~  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away. Don't sue me. I am not making any money from this fic.  
  
"Our hearts live on in places we have lived and in people we have loved. As long as they remember us, we will be immortal. As long as they remember us, we will always have a home." -Oreus  
  
~Where the Heart is~  
  
Haku watched as Chihiro ran across the endless green meadow. She ran in giant leaps across the stone-filled river, and then continued in bounds towards her parents. Haku silently watched as his dearest friend greeted her parents for the first time in weeks. He knew he should be happy for her, knew that she belonged in the human world with her parents. **Then why am I feeling so sad? I shouldn't be feeling this way. I was the one that made the deal with Yubaba to let her go in the first place! I did all I could to help her.**  
  
Haku continued to gaze at Chihiro as she walked towards the tunnel that would transport her home. Before she left, the sky began to darken slightly. Soft rain began to fall, dripping silently on Haku's head and shoulders. The rain did not reach past the stone river; only the spirit world was being rained on. A strange feeling erupted in his stomach. Without thinking, he slowly lifted his arm out in the direction of the tunnel. He was reaching for something he could not find. **What am I looking for? I know she has to go back. I can't bring her back now. I_have_to let her go.**  
  
Haku's conscience began to pipe up as he looked away from Chihiro. 'Don't let her go! Don't let he go! You care about her. She cares about you. She is the one person that never left your side! She abandoned her parents to apologize for you. She gave you her precious medicine from the river God. Don't let he go! She is your best friend, and if you let her go, you will never find another girl like her_ever_again.'  
  
"Chihiro-," Haku muttered, looking up at the tunnel once more.  
  
Then, Chihiro almost turned around. She half turned back, almost as if she wanted to see Haku one last time. Haku froze. One part of him wanted her to turn, to turn and run back to him.  
  
**Chihiro. Turn back, turn back. Don't leave me.**  
  
Part of Haku didn't care whether or not his friend ever saw her world again. He knew that if he wanted her to stay, he could use his magic to keep her here. But a greater part of him knew that the real world was where she belonged. So, when Chihiro didn't look back. Haku was only a little bit sad.  
  
At first.  
  
"Chihiro-," Haku breathed, tears in his eyes.  
  
But she was gone.  
  
~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Tears blinded Haku's eyes as he ran at top speed. He bolted up the stairs and along the road towards the bathhouse. The rain was pounding now, soaking Haku's white short and billowing blue pants. He couldn't think, he could barely breathe. His best friend was gone, gone for good.  
  
**I don't care what I told her. Deep down, I know that I will never see her again.**  
  
Haku's sprint slowed into a run, then into a walk. He had never felt this way before. He had always been so strong. As a river spirit, being strong was part of the contract. He had always been the protector, watching over his river.  
  
**I have lost the thing I care about most,** Haku thought, a clear picture of his friend appearing in his mind. **I have never felt this lost before**. Then, a voice stopped him. 'What about when you you're your home?' **my conscience is giving me advice now?** Haku thought, annoyed.  
  
But it was right. Only one other time in his life had he lost something so precious. When the humans had destroyed his rive, he was heartbroken. They thought that they were supplying new homes for people. They didn't realize that they as they created own home, they were destroying another. Haku had no place to go. He could never call his river home again. He was a spirit, and could never live in the human world. He would never find a true place to call home because of what he was.  
  
Fortunately for Haku, his weakness was also his greatest strength. Even though he was a spirit, and therefore could never find another true home, he could at least use his identity to his advantage. He had always been strong. So, he moved on, away from his loss. As his river had once tossed around stones, he had tossed aside his deepest and truest feelings of helplessness and confusion. He had to be strong; he had to find somewhere, anywhere, to go.  
  
Haku awoke from his trance as he realized that he had reached the bridge that led to the bathhouse. Haku silently crossed the bridge, not paying attention to where his feet were carrying him. He turned to the left of the bathhouse along to the side road that led to a small garden. **This was where I took Chihiro after she breathed on the bridge** Haku remembered, smiling. However, his face darkened as he remembered how Chihiro had to later face Yubaba, the owner of the bathhouse. She had given Chihiro such a hard time. **The poor girl, she must have been frightened out of her wits** Haku thought.  
  
The rain poured harder as Haku stopped in the garden. He lay down under a large hydrangea bush that protected his from the cold rain. Gazing up through the purple petals, Haku reminisced. He remembered everything that had happened to him, everything they had done together-  
  
"I swear Chihiro," Haku said, suddenly standing up. The rain was coming down in buckets now. The sky was a grayish blue and a cold wind bit at his cheek.  
  
"Chihiro, I swear that even if we never do meet again, I swear that I will never forget you.  
  
~There you go! Next chapter coming soon! Please review! = P Ja! ~Oreus 


End file.
